“We cannot solve problems with the kind of thinking we employed when we came up with them.” — Albert Einstein
Out with the old and in with the new. 2020 taught that we would, most importantly, need to think outside the box. Life as we all knew it was rocked to every bottom this year and it only makes you, more than anything, want to start off 2020 right. How would you want to get down to business efficiently in 2021? What should you be doing, and what should you not be doing? First of all, what you should not be doing is overthinking it. And more of what you should be doing is JUST DOING IT.
2020 gave a really valuable tool to help scale your business in 2021: LIFE EXPERIENCE. You cannot buy that anywhere and no one can teach you life, you have to either see or experience it yourself and that kind just never goes away.
Here are a couple of things you could begin with to get your business mind in the right frame:
Think Outside The Box
Ask yourself, ‘What do people need right now? What do people not know they need but actually need it badly? How would they like it served? Who would like this idea presented in this way? What platform best brings this idea out? What location do I incorporate at? How do I scale it? When do I scale it? Do I need to scale it? How far do I scale it?’ Ask yourself the questions you would need to answer every 6 months. A business goes off first in your mind’s eye, the rest is just you putting out your thoughts and all you have already pictured, months ahead, to life. More importantly, no idea is too crazy, you just have not found the right market for it and it probably needs better reviewing to make it work. People definitely hear this more often than not, but only a few take the time to think outside the box. Try to be the exception.
Network
Now, think Clubhouse. If you do not own an iPhone, apologies, but if you do, then get on Clubhouse, now. The beauty of this app is you get seen, you get heard and people ACTUALLY want to hear you. ‘Do you have an idea? Do you need more following? Do you need advice or hear from other peoples experience? Or you just need a community?’ Then, Clubhouse is the place to be. Do not mind the rooms on there with more than 200 people in it, stay and learn, stay and follow, raise your hands, get taken up, make sure you do have an interesting bio, and sell yourself.
Know what rooms to join and get working. Rooms like the Black Influencers Collective, and Instagram Follow Boost, and countless rooms that highlight networking and business. It is easy to get distracted but you must not. You could start rooms of your own as well, start private rooms with people in your field who could also luckily be in your vicinity, link up and discuss empowerment, get the confidence of people with same interests as you, build a following and you are good to go.
To thrive on social media you need the visibility, and you can get a head start on Clubhouse. The most important thing is to get your product out there, to the client and convert it all to sales.
Money Management
2020 highlighted the importance of money management and the value of emergency funds. So you need to be able to know just how and what you want to get out of this venture. Knowing that the key to getting richer would eventually be not to scale but to enable you to work for yourself should be your driving force. Have at the back of your mind the need to set aside provisions for investment in every area of your life. Stocks, Real Estate and mostly your mind. Learn to be ready to have enough set aside to make you comfortable. Do not chase the next big thing while having nothing but hopes and ideas. Learn from businesses that failed and businesses that scaled, and from those who brought themselves up. Take pointers from experiences from around the world and do your research on those in your field. Find out how they did it, look for one or 4 that caters to your niche and be made aware to help yourself.
Be Unique
The pandemic brought everyone together in more ways than none. Technology was a great tool at reaching the minds and creative geniuses of so many people around the world, and we found out that truly, ideas were never too much. Undoubtedly, everyone began doing the same thing, but with a different context. Or not but, hey, it is the internet and there are so many people to reach and cater to with your platform. Find out what you can do, deliberate on what you would do differently and do it.
Start Now
You need to be on your planner right now, ticking off something you have begun doing on your list and not still thinking about it. Do not wait for January, it might wind up being 361 days long, in your case. Get it!
